Posted on 05/25/2008 8:12:36 PM PDT by Morgana
BARBOURSVILLE, WV (WSAZ)-A trip to Wal-Mart turned into a trip to the hospital for the Templeton family. A scorpion from Mexico found its way into a box of watermelons at the Wal-Mart in Barboursville.
William Templeton says his daughter Megan was in the produce department picking out a watermelon Sunday afternoon. The scorpion stung her finger and then hung on. She had to shake her hand to get the scorpion to let go.
William says store managers were very helpful. They even helped him catch the scorpion. He took his daughter to Cabell Huntington Hospital to see if she is allergic to the sting.
Newschannel 3's Melanie Chapman interviewed Megan and her dad. You can hear from them on MyZ 10 o-clock news and on Newschannel 3 Tonight.
The guy probably brought the scorpion in himself so he could make millions off of Walmart. It almost worked for the woman in the Wendy’s finger-in-the-chilli incident.
Thankfully every critter we pulled out of produce boxes while working at the grocery store was dead first. We found lizards, black widows, birds...Thankfully they were all dead by the time they made it to MN.
Mexican scorpions stinging Americans American scorpions don’t want to sting.
catch the scorpian? Some damned scorpian came into my store he’d get splattered.
That makes me wonder how the scorpion survived the trip from Mexico.
Wow! Bugs around fruits and vegetables. Why is this news?
“catch the scorpian?”
They are Wal-Mart managers after all. You were expecting rocket scientists?
Maybe he hired a coyote to bring him in.
There was a time WalMart did that. But I believe it was back when Sam Walton was still running things.
Scorpions are NOT native to West Virginia! Thank God! That is why this is news.
Wow! I bet some lawyer is going to get very rich off of this. The family may even get a few dollars.
Whatcha talkin’ bout?
I assume it was an AMERICAN scorpion.
Unless they have the critters in a pet section;)
Knowing what type of scorpion could be useful in treatment. Even people who are store mangers know this.
46 years old I’ve still never seen a scorpion in person... they’re all over the foothills around here, dad used to get em in his trailer all the time.. but they’re still some sort of strange crypto creature to me.
The scorpian had to be caught whole so that it could be identified...
To help the doctors...
No it was a Mexican Scorpion.....it did not have it’s green card.
tee hee tee hee!
The watermelon was from Mexico so I assume the little bugger was Mexican too.
“46 years old Ive still never seen a scorpion in person... theyre all over the foothills around here, dad used to get em in his trailer all the time.. but theyre still some sort of strange crypto creature to me.”
Just as soon as you say that you will run into one tomorrow! Murphy’s law!
Where’s ICE on this? The little bugger should be deported at once!
Sure,scorpion life can be tough in Mexico,but thats no reason to break the law and sneak accross the border.Think of all the law abiding ones waiting their turn to come here legally.
It’s not like they sting the people our own scorpions won’t sting.
Unfortunately,McCain will probably grant it amnesty.
You should also watch your hands when you reach for a pot or container of plants in the garden center. It is cooler and generally damp there and lots of things live/hide in the plants. Lizards, small snakes, etc.
LOL!!!
I swear I had the same thought!!!!
I used to live in southwestern OK as a kid, and we had some big scorpions. My best friend’s hubby took a shirt out of the closet and put it on once, and thought he was having a heart attack. It was a scorpion stinging him on the chest.
I grew up in Oklahoma and hated those scorpions, had one crawl across my face on night (but didn’t sting me thankfully).
Around here (Tennessee) I am more concerned with copperheads and rattlers.
I had a frightening experience once in Lousiana. A friend wanted to take me canoing on a bayou. We walked to where he wanted to launch the canoe, and when I saw all the cottonmouths I told him NO WAY was I canoing down that bayou.
“46 years old Ive still never seen a scorpion in person... theyre all over the foothills around here, dad used to get em in his trailer all the time.. but theyre still some sort of strange crypto creature to me.”
That is an interesting fact! Are they that rare, then?
It would just as likely come in an American box. My DIL has been bitten 3 times and we’ve grown and shipped watermelons all over the US.
Just as an aside, several years ago, one of my sons was playing w/a friend in one of those Little Tykes cabins. They spotted a huge spider...and the other mom 'whacked' it w/a broom (sending 'spider guts' splattering onto the boys...the mom reacted the way she did because this thing was huge!). Said 'spider guts' caused an almost instantaneous rash (welts) on the skin it landed on. A trip to Pgh. Children's Hospital was decided upon (along with as much of the 'spider carcass' she could scoop up (into a ziploc baggie). It made a world of difference that they could send the 'remains' to the lab (they were fearing Brown Recluse)...but most fortunately, it was just a 'spider on steroids' and they could find no toxicity. But really...play CSI and take the offending 'biter' to the hospital (if safely possible). It makes a world of difference.
Yep, good advice Blondie and not so dumb. There was some real excitement at a Florida Lowes when a small rattler decided to leave the plant s/he was hiding in and scoot across the checkout line. Lots of high steppin’ that day!
“...highly dangerous,black TARANTULA,
day,ees a day,ees a day,ees a dayyyyy-oh,
daylight come an I wanna go home.”
from “The Banana Boat”
Longshoremen REALLY have to be careful.
According to the new “Indiana Jones” movie that I saw yesterday, the big scorpions aren’t supposed to be as poisonous as the little scorpions;-)
Damm those illegal scorpions entering the US any way they could!
I'm in NE Louisiana and we have our share of copperheads and rattlers, the rattlers particularly out in our farm fields hunting rats and mice, the copperheads in the woods and tall weeds. Copperheads are such beautiful creatures, but quite a bit testier than the rattlers. Cottonmouths are just plain grumpy, it doesn't take much at all to coax a strike out of them!
And, just when I was wishing that you still lived around here so that you and I could go fishing together, I find out that you don't want to go on the bayou. But the snakes are nothing once you see the 12 ft. gator we've got in one of our ponds. You have to know that I'm a diehard fishergal to battle all of these things.
That house that your sister lived in sounds great. I love those old houses that tend to have the high ceilings and hardwood floors. We have many of the stately old oaks on our homesite and I love those too. I'm just NOT doing without air conditioning. Heat ... I don't care, I'll light the fireplace, the corn stove or just put on another layer of clothers. But I don't do hot, period (unless I'm fishing of course). ;-)
Take care ... I'm terribly sorry to hear about your fishing buddy.
I can’t even begin to imagine the stuff that longshoremen see. [shudder]
Yes and he caught typhus in a jungle !
I thought that movie was about the ultimate in “milking it for all it’s worth”, just plain silly.
Another good reason to eat nothing but Twinkies!
All that damn natural food has critters on it...
Nope, First of all, most Lawyers won't touch a WM suit because they litigate everything and make it extremely costly. Secondly, in Texas, a customer was bit by a rattle snake while trying on shoes, jury sided with Wal-Mart.
I had company show up tonight, a friend from Texas. She is a professional bass angler, and fished a B.A.S.S. tournament in Alabama. She decided, since her tournament next week is in Tennessee, she’d come here and stay a week, instead of back to Dallas, then back here. She pulls a big truck with a BIG bass boat, is getting about 12 miles to the gallon.
I’ve had a good day, am enjoying spending time with this friend. I hope to take her to Gatlinburg and (with a few flyrods) get her into some “laid back” fishing while she’s here.
I am also sad about my vet buddy, can’t get him off my mind, and am now up late having a quiet moment alone to remember him (while everybody’s in bed), cry a little because I hate to lose him, and smile thinking of all the great times we had fishing together.
When I lived in Louisiana I fished alot, just not in that little bayou with (what I estimated in my fear at the time) a 100 of those cottonmouths cruising around where we were going to launch. I fear the cottonmouths more than the gators, which will leave you alone, get away from you.
I also fished close to some ‘gators, even went on an alligator hunt once for a story, when I was working as a newspaper reporter in Lake Charles.
And I agree, I couldn’t deal with no AC in Louisiana. Being from Tennessee when I moved to Louisiana, I never thought they had cold weather there (a few days, but not much).So I could handle the winter, but the summers were rough.
My husband and I have talked about spending winters in Louisiana, since his family is still there and we are old enough to really have a hard time here with the cold and snow.My husband’s family home is still in Westlake, and it could serve as a winter home for us.
I LOVE fishing in Lousiana. I’d love to get back on some of those redfish and specs, big bass in lilly pads.
We might still do it. We will be in Lousiana this summer, plan on bringing my husband’s sister (in her 80s) back up here to see the mountains for a week, then take her back to La.
I would love for us to get together and fish there. Maybe we could freepmail and get some dates lined up and do so. I have lots of fishing tackle, a 17 foot canoe, and a big pontoon boat (which would cost too much to bring). However I could arrange for us to have some fishing guides take us out, if I publish an article about it.
I would. From what I understand, doctors treating these kinds of stings often want the attacker in order to positively identify which species attacked and, consequently, what antidote to use for the venom, should it be necessary.

Yep, that looks like the Texas Scorpion. I’ve seen plenty, but its been more than twenty years for me.
was on range control at Ft Hood in 71, the “coffins” where the pop up targets fell into needed cleaning and weeding yearly. There was usually a nest of scorpions and at least one rattler in each one.
Actually, that IS true....the little scorpions ARE more poisonous (learned that in a museum in Arizona talking to the scorpion specialist.) Shortly after that went to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico to stay with friends....and the shower had a bunch of Itsy Bitsy Scorpions to welcome me.....EEEEKKKKK....they sprayed them immediately, but the little buggers come up through the drains!
I like buying Mexican produce and other products. It means they have a job in Mexico. Besides, there aren’t any American grown watermelons when Mexican watermelons are ripe. More importantly; there aren’t any CA avocados when Mexican avocados are ripe.
Which one?


So what would you classify as help?
The guy probably brought the scorpion in himself so he could make millions off of Walmart. It almost worked for the woman in the Wendys finger-in-the-chilli incident.WTF that's not a very good attitude.
“Some damned scorpian came into my store hed get splattered.”
Exactly. “captured” the scorpion? Spare me.
We must’nt offend the extreme animal rights wackos, I guess.
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